Health and Restoration Project

 of the Bankhead National Forest

          Three very dry summers in 1998-2000 made thousands of acres of loblolly pine plantations very susceptible to Southern Pine Leaf Beetles.  About 79,000 acres of the Bankhead National Forest were severely damaged.  

           Wild South participates on the Community Liaison Panel to help develop plans to restore the damaged loblolly pine plantations to various natural forest communities. Diverse forest communities have greater resistance to insects, disease and weather than monocultures of loblollies, and provide far better habitat for wildlife.

            With this summer's dry weather, more areas of beetle damage have been found in the Bankhead through aerial surveillance.  The Forest Service is issueing logging contracts to try to stem the advance of the beetles, either with "cut and leave" or "cut and remove" contracts which are issued immediately without competitive bids.  Local loggers are given priority on thinning and harvesting projects.

            About 59,000 acres of pine plantations, or 68% of the Bankhead will become natural oak/hickory/pine forests, which is almost double the amount currently in the Bankhead.   About 21% of the forest will become forest woodlands, which are kept more open through prescribed burning.  This will include about 5,000 acres of longleaf pine woodlands, 13,500 acres into shortleaf pine woodlands, and 12,000 acres to oak woodlands.  These thinned forests will have better habitat for deer, turkey, quail, and song birds, and be much more attractive for hiking, camping, and hunting.

            The first five-year Health and Restoration Project is well underway. The first years will be mainly thinning fifteen- to forty-five-year-old loblolly plantations, catching up on prescribed burning, and preparing and planting a few areas to native short leaf pine. 

            The second phase of the Project involves developing long leaf and short leaf woodlands on five watersheds in the southeastern part of the Forest.  Some of these forest types have not been seen in norhern Alabama for 200 years.  These areas have some beautiful canyons that Wild South has been mapping to give them a higher amount of protection.  The canyons will have old-growth timber as the future desired condition.  It promises to be very interesting.        

         The Forest Service recently started a "Stewardship Program" that provides for off-setting the costs of restoration activities by using the procedes from harvesting timber as part of the thinning process.  This arrangement will keep more of the money and benefits of restoration on the Bankhead.  The first stewardship project was recently awarded to the National Wild Turkey (no, not the whiskey) Federation, and we wish them well in this effort.  The Forest Service will be watching the Stewardship Program closely to see how it works out and can be expanded.   

         The Liaison Panel, meets quarterly, alternating between Double Springs and Moulton, and the meetings and field trips are open to the public.  Volunteers to participate in the forest restoration monitoring are very welcome.  

         You can also call the Forest Service at 205-489-5111 to get on their mailing list to receive information on the Health and Restoration Project in the Bankhead.

Giving Away Public Land to Build a Marina

          TVA land on the Elk River could be essentially given to a developer to build a 91-acre marina complex.  The TVA Board delayed decision on the proposal until their meeting in August.   Following the meeting, the Chairman of the TVA Board issued a statement that the TVA land holdings would be treated as if held in trust like a national park.  Wonderful!!!!!

         The marina was proposed for Wheeler Lake, on the north side of the Tennessee River near the town of Rogersville, AL.  The developer applied for 40-year no-cost lease, but TVA shortened it to a 30-year lease to build a marina, roads, an RV park, "nature trails", store, restaurant, and boat storage facility. Wild South and other local groups vigorously voiced their opinion that the facility would have major detrimental impacts on the Tennessee River corridor, which is being eaten alive by industrial devolopment.  

        The TVA Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) was not very complete, and is full of traditional "boiler plate" that gives few specifics on how the area wildlife and shorelines will be protected.  The confluence of the Elk and Tennessee Rivers was the site of a thriving Native American culture which will suffer pollution and damage from such a facility, regardless of what the FONSI states.           

        The proposed marina would be very similar to the facility a short distance away at Wheeler State Park.   A major question is if Wheeeler is not making money, would there be enough rich people around with cabin cruisers to make such a place pay off, or will the river be once more left with an unsightly sore?

           For more information, visit the Shoals Environmental Alliance website:        http://shoalsenvironalliance.netfirms.com/

 or contact Janice at Wild South:  janice@wildsouth.org             

The draft Environmental Assessment can be found at
www.tva.gov/environment/reports/elkriver/.

Visit these Alabama groups to learn more about issues dear to YOUR heart:

Portersville Revival Group

Dedicated to the preservation of the Alabama Gulf Coast, The Portersville Revival Group is working to protect the Grand Bay Estuary, the last unspoiled estuarine ecosystem on the Alabama Gulf Coast. 

www.portersvillerevivalgroup.org

Black Warrior Riverkeeper

Committed to protecting and restoring the beautiful Black Warrior River and its tributaries, the Black Warrior Riverkeeper is a membership-based non-profit.  We are always looking for supporters to protect our waters threatened by mining, developments, agriculture, industrial pollutants, sewage, and urban runoff - the Black Warrior needs your help.  We need volunteers for water sampling and research activities.        Contact:
Nelson Brooke - Riverkeeper
Black Warrior Riverkeeper
P.O. Box 59684
Birmingham, AL  35259
(205) 458-0095
nbrooke@blackwarriorriver.org
http://www.blackwarriorriver.org/

Shoals Environmental Alliance

Voted the outstanding new environmental group in 2004, they successfully stood up to TVA when they tried to give away beautiful hiking trails along the Tennessee to a private developer to build a golf course, and again to stop a marina at the Elk River.  They rock.  Visit them at:
http://shoalsenvironalliance.netfirms.com/

Jacksonville State Universtiy Field Schools

http://fieldschool.jsu.edu

        Little River Canyon Field School 

     Talladega Mountains Field School

Renee S. Morrison, Coordinator

Email:   rmorrison@jsu.edu      

Address:  700 Pelham Road North

                  Suite 246 Martin Hall

                  Jacksonville AL 36265

Office:      256-782-5697     Cell:         256-225-2188

 Celebrating outdoor education and adventure from

Alabama's deepest canyon to its highest mountain!

WildLaw

http://www.wildlaw.org 

Alabama Envirnomental Council

www.aeconline.ws 

Alabama Rivers Alliance

www.alabamarivers.org

Echota Cherokee Tribe

www.echotacherokeetribe.net

The Nature Conservancy

www.nature.org/alabama

Sierra Club

http://alabama.sierraclub.org

Eco-USA

http://www.eco-usa.net/orgs/al.shtml